As you search the internet looking for a good auto transportation company to ship your vehicle, you’re probably wondering why the prices that you keep seeing from said auto transportation companies are so high. No matter where you look, you just can’t seem to find an auto transportation company on the cheap – but when you actually sit and think about it, there’s a reason for why the prices are so high. In this auto transportation article, we’ll explain why the costs are so high, and why you might want to avoid some of the “cheaper” companies.

Auto transportation relies very much on the carrier – see, the auto transportation company you book your shipment with is only a brokerage, and this is the way you should book your auto transportation. Auto transportation brokerages have the time and the money to talk to multiple customers and keep them informed of the status of their auto transportation, while carriers just don’t. Auto transport carriers are on the road all day, every day, and they don’t have time to sit and chat with every customer that they’re hauling loads for. Therefore, they rely on brokerages to find them loads, so it’s always best to book with an auto transportation brokerage as opposed to directly with the carrier.

Anyway, carriers have to keep their trucks running and on the road, and they need to keep them well-maintained. Not only that, but auto transportation carriers have to abide by all federal laws pertaining to transportation, including ones that aren’t specific to the industry. Therefore, they need to be able to meet all those costs and still be able to feed their families. Hauling ten different cars is no easy feat – auto transportation requires a lot of fuel to get from one pickup to the next, so most of the cost of your auto transportation is going into the fuel tanks of the auto transport carriers.

Their other major cost is maintenance. Auto transportation takes a heavy toll on the trucks themselves, and since most auto transportation companies run open transport trucks, they have to keep their loading and unloading machinery in top shape – lest something happen and a car falls on top of another (this is what you’re paying for – peace of mind!). Keeping a truck running properly is expensive, so this is another major part of your cost.

The last major part is the cut that the auto transportation brokerage takes. You may think of them as middlemen, but the truth is that auto transportation brokerages are the only way that you’ll be able to talk to someone about your transport – if you booked straight with the carrier, you’d never talk to them except during pickup and delivery. Auto transportation brokerages work hard to find trucks for customers and customers for trucks, so they do their fair share of work – but their employees need to be paid, according to the government, and they provide important jobs especially in struggling economies. Auto transportation brokerages make the process easy on everyone involved, so rest assured that you’re in good hands.